QT Sense, a startup based in the Netherlands, has announced a €4 million funding round to enhance Quantum Nuova, a quantum-based platform designed to monitor cellular stress in real-time and with single-cell resolution.

Funding Details

The funding includes a €3 million seed round led by Cottonwood Technology Fund, with support from QDNL Participations and an angel investor. An additional €0.6 million comes from the ONCO-Q grant to accelerate applications in oncology, and €0.4 million from the Quantum Forward Challenge to support the validation of Quantum Nuova in real research environments.

Platform Functionality

Unlike traditional biological methods that analyze fixed tissue or non-living cells, Quantum Nuova measures biochemical activity in living cells and tissues in real-time. The platform uses fluorescent nanodiamond quantum sensors to detect oxidative stress, metabolic changes, and free radical activity.

Applications and Future Developments

The technology has already been used to study the mechanisms of action of FDA-approved drugs. Thanks to the ONCO-Q funding, it will be applied to colorectal cancer research, with the aim of mapping oxidative stress and metabolic vulnerabilities in tumor models. The new investments will support the transition of Quantum Nuova from a high-performing prototype to a deployable discovery platform, with planned improvements in hardware robustness, throughput, and integrated analytics.